


The Final Stage

by SmallTownSlytherin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Depression, Five Stages of Grief, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Season 8 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 07:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17178326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallTownSlytherin/pseuds/SmallTownSlytherin
Summary: It started with denial- and isolation. That turned into anger, which became bargaining. Bargaining turned into depression. With a little bit of help and a push, depression became acceptance.Lance felt so empty after Allura left them all behind for the greater good. But soon enough, he realizes life still held great things for him.-WARNING: THIS FIC CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASON 8-





	The Final Stage

**Author's Note:**

> The five stages of grief, according to the Kübler-Ross model are:  
> 1) Denial and isolation  
> 2) Anger  
> 3) Bargaining   
> 4) Depression  
> 5) Acceptance. 
> 
> -Last warning, this fic contains Season 8 spoilers-

Lance knew the five stages of grief pretty well. He had gone through all of them- well, almost all of them. Ever since Allura had passed, he had been devastated. Coping, coping the best he could. And he wasn’t doing so well. He knew he had his friends and family to help him, but that didn’t make it any easier.

It started out with denial. When Allura had made the decision to sacrifice herself for the greater good, Lance begged and pleaded for her to not do it. He loved her, had never loved anyone like he loved her. Allura had kissed him, wiped away his tears, and promised she loved him too. Then she was gone, and Lance had never felt more empty. When the war was over, he settled down, tracing the altean marks on his cheeks, and hoped it had all been a terrible dream. But deep down, he knew Allura was gone, and there was nothing he could do to fix it. 

The denial became anger. Lance was pissed this was how the universe worked. Why had he been picked to be a Legendary Defender? Sure, it was how he met Allura, but if he hadn’t met her- he would have never fallen in love with her. He was pissed that she had to give up everything she had to save the universe. He believed if they had worked a little harder, they could have all lived and finished everything for good. He was pissed that he had lost the only person he loved just days after their first kiss, and now he had a constant reminder of her painted under his eyes. In general, he was just pissed. He started taking his anger out on his friends and family. By the time he realized how much the anger had taken him over, he had made Nadia cry. And honestly, he had no emotion in him to fix what he had done. 

Soon, anger became bargaining. He prayed, begged, and barded with every force out there to bring Allura back. To change what had happened. Hell, he would agree to go back to his days at the Garrison and never meet Allura if it meant he wouldn’t have to deal with this pain. He had loved Allura from the day she tumbled out of her pod into his arms and insulted his ears. And honestly, everyday became worse as he watched her in action. He saw how regal she was, how strong she was. He tried several times to interact with her, but he was too nervous. And after he finally found the courage to ask her out, he had lost her in a matter of days. His family and friends tried to visit him, but he snapped at them. Pushed everyone away and continued to hate every day that had passed.

But even then, he soon lost the energy to brood in his room and punch holes in the wall. A heavy weight settled on his shoulders, and something settled in his stomach and dragged his heart down. Days of yelling and punching turned to days of being curled up in bed, crying and clutching his pillow. It became days of stealing his sisters makeup to cover the marks on his cheeks. It became days of pleading that someone would hold him, or time would go in reverse and everything was just one bad dream. Everything hurt, and he thought it would never end. But then he learned to open his eyes and see that he still had people who cared about him. Shiro, Hunk, Keith, and Pidge. They were all there for him, despite doing their own things and helping repair the universe, they called and checked on him every day. Even though he didn’t always pick up the phone, they called daily. They texted daily. It was when  Lance realized if he was ever going to get over this- he needed to let his friends in. So he called the last one to call him- Keith. 

The phone rang a few times before Keith picked up. “Lance?”

“Yeah, It’s me.” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“It’s good to hear from you. We were worried.”

“Sorry. I haven’t been coping all that well.” he whispered.

“Well, we’re here for you. If you need one of us to come over, just say the words.”

Lance hesitated, then sighed. “I need someone to come over. I’m in too deep.”

“Be there soon.” Keith promised, ending the call. 

Lance waited in his bed, looking around his messy room. It was in a state of disaster. Clothes on the floor, empty plates and cups, messy bed...The least he could do was clean up and make himself presentable for Keith. So he got up, taking a quick shower, then putting on the only clean outfit he could find. Next he picked up all his dirty clothes and put them in the washing machine. Finally he cleared the dishes. His mom looked surprised to see him in the kitchen.

“Hello, amor.” she greeted. 

“Hi, mama.” he smiled weakly as he loaded his dishes into the dishwasher. 

“You...you look nice.” She smiled softly.

“Keith is coming over.” Lance shrugged, glancing at his feet. He missed his family.

“Oh, alright.” her smile brightened, glad Lance was finally having some human contact. “I’ll make dinner.”

“Can you make yuca con mojo? It’s Keith’s favorite.” 

“Anything for you both.” she hurried to set cooking, and Lance shuffled in the living room to wait for Keith. His family was sitting around, chatting amongst one another.

“Lance.” Marco greeted him softly.

“Hi.” he greeted everyone, who smiled warmly. They were glad to see him up and about. The doorbell rang, and Lance answered.

“Hey there, sharpshooter.” Keith greeted, stepping inside. “How are you holding up?”

“I’ve been better.” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But it’s time I stop moping around and get my life back together.”

“Glad to hear it.” He smiled softly, greeting Lance’s family.  His mother gave him a hug and his father patted him on the shoulder.

“Come on, we can go to my room until dinner is ready.” Lance chuckled. 

Keith nodded and followed him to his room, which looked better than it had in weeks.

“So. Talk, let it all out.” Keith whispered. 

Lance sat down beside him, hands folded in his lap as he thought of where to begin. Before he knew it, his thoughts were spilling out. How much he loved and missed Allura, how much he craved her touch. He went to bed with her on his mind, dreamed of her, and woke up to think about her all day. 

“Well..you went through something pretty tragic. It’s normal to grieve. You can’t forget who you are, or stop taking care of yourself, yeah?”

Lance nodded, letting out a small sigh. “It hurts to think I have to move on.”

“You don’t have to jump back into dating right away, you know? And even if you do- you’ll find someone who is right for you. Someone who takes away the pain and makes you happy.”

Lance chuckled. “When did you get so smart, Mullet?”

“I’ve learned a few things over the years.”  He shrugged.

Lance’s mother called them for dinner, and the two of them went downstairs to eat. For a while, Lance was able to forget the heavy pain that was constant in his heart. However, when Keith had to leave, he felt his heart getting heavy again. 

Keith promised to stop back in within then next few weeks if his relief mission went to plan. Lance found himself unable to lay around anymore. He began helping around the house, running errands into town, and playing with his niece and nephew again. No one was sure what Keith had said, but they were all glad he did. If Lance was back on his feet and actually smiling, they were happy for him. 

As promised, Keith was back about three weeks later. Without even thinking, Lance wrapped him in a hug. “Keith!” his eyes sparkled. 

Keith hesitated for only a split second before hugging him back. It felt nice to be hugged- he didn’t get them very often. 

“You’re staying for dinner, right?” Lance beamed as he pulled away.

“Yeah...I can stay.” Keith smiled. 

Lance talked a lot during dinner, more than Keith had heard him talk in months. He didn’t mind- Lance seemed to be improving. 

“Why don’t you stay the night, dear?” Lance’s mom suggested. “No need to run away so soon.”

“Yeah!” Lance agreed. “You can try my favorite breakfast.”

“Lance can’t cook.” Silvio whispered to Keith, who chuckled.

“I can cook!” Lance defended. 

“Yeah- toast.”

Lance scoffed. “Whatever. You’re all jealous.”

Keith helped clean up dinner despite Lance’s moms protests, and then was set up on a cot in Lance’s room. He was surprised to notice the giant skylight on Lance’s ceiling- he had noticed it last time he was over.

“My parents had it installed for me. So I could look at the stars to fall asleep.” Lance noticed him gazing out of it. 

“It’s nice. Calming.” Keith lay down on his cot, gazing out of the skylight.

“It really is.” Lance sighed, climbing in his own bed. There was silence between them for a while before Lance spoke. “Do you ever think about settling down one day? Like- with the person you truly love.”

“Mmm, not really.” Keith sighed. “I know who I love, but I know it won’t work out.”

“Why not?” Lance rolled over to face him.

Keith chuckled. “He likes women.”

“You- you like guys?” Lance raised an eyebrow.

“I’m gay as fuck, Lance. Haven’t you noticed?” Keith laughed.

“No!” Lance sat up in shock. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Shiro knows, and I’m pretty sure Pidge and Hunk do too.”

“Wow. I’m always the last to know things.” he crossed his arms and flopped back down.

“No, you’re just oblivious.” Keith teased.

Lance stuck out his tongue before carrying on the conversation. “So...who do you love? Is it Shiro?”

“Noooo. Shiro is like my brother.”

“Hunk?” 

“No, Hunk is great, but it’s not him.”

“Is it anyone I know?” Lance guessed.

“Oh, you know him. Pretty well in fact.”

“Uh….Coran?”

“No! You’re wrong for that.”

Lance laughed. “Okay, I give up. Can’t you just tell me?”

“I could...but it might ruin things between us.” Keith said softly.

“Why? It’s not like- oh. Oh. Do you- like me?”

“Yes.” Keith admitted softly. “Honestly, ever since the Garrison.”

“Oooh.” Lance was pretty stumped.

“But you’re not gay, so I’m fine with being friends if you are.”

“I’m bisexual.” Lance said suddenly.

“Huh?” Keith replied dumbly. 

“I’m bisexual. Always have been. In fact, my first serious relationship was a boy.” He was still facing Keith. “We broke up on good terms and we still talk.”

“How come you never told anyone?”

“It wasn’t important.” he shrugged. “So you have a crush on me?” he got his signature grin on his face.

“Yes, Lance. We established this.” Keith replied.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind trying us out.” Lance’s reply was almost so soft Keith didn’t hear it.

“You- you want to date?” Keith sat up.

“Yes. I’m ready to move on.” he said firmly. “And there’s no one better than the person who pulled me out of a depression.” He swung his legs over the bed and came to sit beside Keith’s cot. “Is that okay with you?”

“Yes. Obviously.” Keith hadn’t smiled this big in a while

“Good.” Lance, bold as ever, leaned in and gave him a kiss. When Keith kissed him back, Lance finally felt...different. He felt acceptance. Allura was gone, and even though it hurt, Lance knew she was forever in his heart. With Keith, he could finally be happy.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading. This was on my mind the second I finished season 8.


End file.
